The subtitle of this blog contains a quote from Thomas Berry: The universe is a communion and a community. We ourselves are that communion become conscious of itself. The movie Avatar very powerfully shows what can happen if we lose sight of this truth. We must begin to rediscover our true place in the web of creation and abandon our arrogant claim to superiority and dominion of the natural world. We must begin to see that we are a part of a complex and interdependent system and that damage to one part has consequences that reverberate throughout the entire system. Thich Nhat Hahn's idea of interbeing very nicely encapsulates this essential truth.
The idea of interbeing is based on the 14 principles of mindfullness as expressed by the Order of Interbeing. Follow the link for an explanation of these principles.
For a video clip of Thich Nhat Hahn speaking about Interbeing, follow the link
I was struck with the timing of this movie to the recent Supreme Court Ruling giving corporations the same rights as individuals and allowing them to fund political candidates with the full measure of their financial clout. We would do well to heed the message here; corporations are beholden to themselves, their shareholders, and their profitability. They are by nature short sighted and unlikely to see the broader implications of their actions as a projection over time. Their boards are under constant pressure from share holders to increase profitability thus justifying just about any action that does that. It is Orwells 1984 revisited if we go down that path, and indeed it seems that we have started to do just that.
Many very intelligent and informed journalists and commentators are calling for a robust response to this recent development. And the window of opportunity is not large since with time, politicians will all be beholden to their corporate sponsors and not to their constituencies who will have the facts so spinned to them they will be unable to tell the difference between fact and untruth. We will be like lambs to the slaughter over time. Many are indeed calling for large scale demonstrations, even revolution in some cases. For Keith Olbermann's view from msnbc, follow the link
We must all take it upon ourselves to resist the temptation to give up in the face of this
egregious attack on the democratic process by redoubling our efforts to remain actively engaged in the process. If politicians receive just 30 calls on a particular issue they take notice.
My wish is that this film acts as a consciousness raiser for the people who see it and that somehow the message comes through.
My wish is that this film acts as a consciousness raiser for the people who see it and that somehow the message comes through.
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